It takes more than just on-pitch quality to be a Manchester United player, especially during this testing era without sustained success.
Manchester United players need mental strength to deal with the intense scrutiny and spotlight.
One who had a mixed time was Andreas Pereira, who played under three different managers at the club, before eventually leaving in summer 2022 to ‘prove people wrong’.
Pereira was a player fans had high hopes for, and he struggled to live up to the hype. Now at Fulham, he is rebuilding his career and benefiting from regular playing time.
He has experienced the downsides of social media criticism himself, and has sympathy for one Manchester United teammate in particular.
Andreas Pereira on Harry Maguire
Andreas Pereira says he believes Harry Maguire has had a raw deal from football fans in general since his move to Manchester United.
Pereira, speaking to Five, recalled Maguire’s debut, a 4-0 victory against Chelsea. He pointed to this as what the centre-back is capable of, before he begun to get ground down amid the Manchester United meat-grinder.
He said: “I think Maguire has been, a little bit unfair the pressure on him. When he came in the first game I don’t think you remember against Chelsea, first game he started we win four-zero, he was unbelievable.
“This shows that it is the confidence. If you put confidence in him, he can be this player, and he’s shown it a lot of times, but people stay with the image and they always say ‘ah he’s doing a mistake or he will do a mistake’ and this doesn’t help him.”
Pereira also recalled his own time in Brazil with Flamengo, and said he believes Maguire should be more carefully looked after by supporters in his own country.
He said: “I think the English fans and he’s like one of your own. It’s different as a foreign player, when I am in Brazil I am a Brazilian player, they protect a little bit more, so I would say they have to protect him a little bit more.”
Maguire has earned plaudits at United
Pereira’s words are well-intentioned, but difficult to put into practice amid the tribal nature of club football in England, where fans are eager to point-score and put down opposition players. The higher the price tag, the higher the target on his back, and Maguire has faced severe scrutiny.
This season Maguire has begun to shine once again, for the first time really since his debut campaign at United back in 2019/20.
He won the Premier League player of the month award in November, and has been arguably United’s most consistent centre-back this season, and at present, he is the only fit senior player in his position.
Maguire is still regarded as one of England’s best. He is expected to have a starring role at Euro 2024, which will be his fourth consecutive major tournament with his country, and third as a Manchester United player.
Perhaps for a few weeks this summer at least, English fans will get behind him.